Intellectual Property
Intellectual property can be one of the most valuable assets in your business.
You should assess what intellectual property you own and whether they are being protected. You should also consider the ownership of intellectual property from an asset protection perspective. We recommend that you consider holding your intellectual property in an asset holding entity and license it to the trading entity for risk management reasons.
Some examples of intellectual property include;
- Patents
- Logo's and Branding
- Designs (Product and Branding Collateral)
- Process and Systems such as Automation, Robotics etc.
There are many thing to consider in this process and speaking to one of our Business Law experts may help you protect your assets properly.
Here are some tips for your consideration:
- Record appropriate details about those assets in an intellectual property asset register.
- Ensure all registered intellectual property are renewed on time.
- Monitor trade mark applications to ensure no similar marks are being registered.
- Attribute ownership of intellectual property so that others know who owns it.
- Periodically check what your competitors are doing.
- Perform a regular intellectual property audit of your business every two to three years.
- Value each intellectual property asset and reflect this in the balance sheet.